Blogs from Thua Thien - Huế, North Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 5

Saturday, 4 July we had a 3.5 hr transfer by car via Danang which looks like an up and coming seaside destination. After unpacking we walked into Hoi An and visited the Old Town. First stop was a Japanese enclosed bridge first constructed 1590. It was flattened by the French to enable vehicles to cross but was restored in 1986. Hoi An is a mecca for clothes shoppers, especially those wanting tailored suits. Next we visited a typical Viet house, Tan Ky House -owned by same family for 7 generations. In 1964 it was flooded to above my height as shown by a marker on the wall. There were also Chinese poems in inlaid mother of pearl On the walls. From there we walked to Quan Than House which is 3 centuries old, again with Chinese ... read more

Hue is a beautiful coastal town (once a capital) in central Vietnam. Our hotel is a family run guesthouse with a spacious room and lovely rooftop views. Today it is finally raining after a week of steamy weather. We checked in around lunchtime for a bit of aircon and much needed showers and toilet time, then we headed out for a wander and some late lunch. The pace in Hue is much calmer with many rickshaws and fewer busses or cars. It's breezier too, which is a welcome change. For dinner Arnee was craving western food so we found an Italian restaurant. Agus was in foodie heaven with bruschetta (aka tomato toast), pizza, chips and passion fruit for dessert. Today we decided to catch the rickshaw to the citadel. Nina and Elsie in one, daddy and ... read more

First full day in Hue began with getting a bit lost! With map in hand i started out in the direction of the citadel - across the Perfume river and i should have turned left but instead I went right! The 19th century walled citadel sits within another walled city so, seeing a very old high wall to my right I thought this was it. Following this round - it was the old city wall - one though that comes to a rather abrupt end! Where I definitely had the distinct feeling of being lost. Feeling a little apprehensive and for some reason deciding not to just retrace my steps - which of course would have been the obvious thing to have done - I headed left and right a bit until I finally got to ... read more

Hué 2 - 4 July We were picked up at 11am for our airport transfer. We arrived in Hué at 14.30 to 43 degrees of heat. Our car was waiting for us in the arrivals area and we were transferred to the Thanh Lich Hotel on Bai Trang. The reception was very nice with cold towels and helpful staff. The room was also nice with a full sized bath and a shower. We quickly changed and set off on foot to the Imperial Citadel, The grounds of the Imperial City are protected by fortified ramparts 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, and ringed by a moat. The water in the moat is re routed from the Huong (perfume). Inside the Citadel is the Imperial City (Hoàng thành), with a perimeter wall some 2.5 kilometers in length. Within ... read more

We checked into our hotel in Hue (pronounced Hway) early in the afternoon and decided to brave the heat and go for a stroll along the nearby Perfume River. This wasn't quite the pleasant stroll I anticipated. Although we'd mastered the technique of successfully crossing the numerous necessary roads, by walking together purposefully and slowly while watching out for drivers not paying attention, it was challenging to pick our away around all the motor scooters and bikes parked on the sidewalk, the holes in the sidewalk, street vendors, mechanics fixing or spray painting their bikes, piles of scaffolding and bits of loose wire, etc. We planned to cross on one bridge, walk through the park to the next bridge, and back to our hotel. The exhaust fumes on the long bridges were accentuated by the heat ... read more